India In Talks To Join COVAX Global Vaccine Allocation Plan: WHO
According to a statement from a senior WHO adviser, the World Health Organization is in talks with India about joining the ‘COVAX’ global vaccine allocation plan.
Bruce Aylward told a briefing in Geneva that, “like all countries in the world, India is also certainly eligible to be part of the COVAX facility and discussions are ongoing in that regard. Given India’s extensive experience, particularly, with vaccines, we would welcome Indian participation.”
COVAX, a mechanism set up by the WHO was launched to ensure more equitable access to any future COVID-19 vaccines and is aimed at helping buy and distribute vaccination shots against the novel coronavirus fairly around the world. However, some countries, including the United States, have secured their own supplies through bilateral deals and have said they will not join Covax.
The World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) are leading the COVAX facility.
As COVID-19 cases are now reported in almost all GAVI-eligible countries, the GAVI Vaccine Alliance is enabling countries to purchase diagnostic tests, perform vital surveillance and training, and protect health care
workers, by providing immediate funding to health systems.To make sure that all countries have equitable, fast, and safe access to initial doses of the vaccine when they are available, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had announced that it will be leading the procurement and supply of vaccines. For routine immunization and outbreak response on behalf of nearly 100 countries, the United Nations Children’s Fund procures more than 2 billion doses of various vaccines annually and it is the world’s largest single vaccine buyer.
The vaccine procurement and distribution effort, COVAX involves over 170 economies and has the potential to become the world’s fastest ever operation of its kind and the largest collaboration collectively representing 70 percent of the global population.
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WHO says India in talks to join COVAX
